By Chikondi Mitchaya:
Malawi Writers Union (Mawu), with funding from Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) through the Copyright Fund, has commenced a story writing competition in public secondary schools.
The writers’ body said the aim of the competition is to improve the reading and writing culture among students.
Mawu Vice President Dave Chingwalu said on Friday during the launch of the initiative at Chiradzulu Secondary that the competition is targeting areas that were hardest hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy and droughts.
“We want to promote creativity and writing by inspiring resilience and hope in the face of adversities that people encountered during the disaster,” Chingwalu said.
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He said the writers’ body is concerned about the lack of reading and writing interest among students with many preoccupied with the social media.
“As Mawu, our aim is to promote reading and writing because it is the source of knowledge. The more one reads, the more knowledge they get, so we encourage all secondary schools to participate and share their inspiring stories of post-disaster resilience,” Chingwalu said.
The launch was attended by teachers and students from nine secondary schools in Chiradzulu District.
A student from Chiradzulu Secondary School, Ekarie Mbega, hailed Mawu for coming up with such an initiative.
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“This is a huge opportunity for us students to express our writing skills. There are a lot of students out there who are talented but they lack proper platforms to showcase their skills,” Ekarie said.
The theme of the competition is ‘Post Disaster Resilience Inspiration Stories’ and it aims at bringing out non-fiction creative stories of those that were affected by the cyclone and the drought in Karonga.
During the event, a member of Mawu Jacinta Chisi recited poems.
